The sacred mugwort plant has rightly earned a reputation with herbalists that spans the magical and divine. This plant is often described as a ‘gateway herb’ that both opens the doors of perception and guides us safely through them. Plant spirit communicators recommend mugwort as one of the easiest and most welcoming plant spirits to communicate with. She is both nurturing and fiercely protective, being well-known as the plant of psychic protection and used for her magical abilities to ward off evil spirits since ancient times. In the middle ages it was the norm to hang bundles of dried mugwort over babies cots to keep them safe from spirit possession, and travellers never left home without a sprig of mugwort in their boots to protect them from witches curses and bear attacks.
Psychically, mugwort helps us to bridge the connections between our inner and outer worlds. When we invite mugwort into our Dreaming, our dreams become more vivid, memorable and lucid and our waking world becomes more dream-like, allowing the natural world to touch our waking mind with its wisdom. She has a remarkable ability to thin the veil between the physical and non-physical worlds, whilst keeping us grounded and protected as we venture into new realms of consciousness.
Mugwort opens up chambers of ancient memory within the brain, bringing to one’s dream life stirring visions of past and future that overflow with magical imagery. The symbols that dance through your mugwort-touched dreams pull out the cobwebs of our forgetfulness and assist us in remembering old, unwritten ways of healing and living that attend to the needs of spirit and soul.
Judith Berger, Herbal Rituals
I have a deep affinity for mugwort and love to grow my own. I often stop and take a few deep breaths of pungent mugwort as I potter around my garden – the powerful scent always brings me deeper into my body and deeper into the present moment. Afterwards, the light on the garden seems to shimmer a little more vibrantly, and the plants and flowers around me suddenly appear more intricately detailed and somehow more ‘alive’. Magical mugwort is described as a “stirrer of visions and opener of portals.” Just being in her presence starts me feeling like I am walking between two worlds.
I reap my mugwort near the full moon, when the plant’s lunar energies are most concentrated in the leaves. I always recite a prayer to invite the plant spirit to remain embodied within the harvest and to share its magic and come dreaming with me. I then get creative and make my own mugwort smudge sticks, teas and dream oils. I will sometimes also smoke dried mugwort or take an aura-repairing mugwort bath.
As a tea or a smoke, the effects of mugwort are strong enough that I would definitely avoid driving or operating machinery for sometime afterwards. The shift in consciousness is immediately palpable. A strong cup of mugwort tea will almost demand that you lie down and nap on the spot. It’s so relaxing that you will almost melt off your chair and straight into a lucid dream. I love to wake up in the early hours for my dreaming practice and sip a small cup of mugwort tea before I slide back into bed and listen to a Guided Astral Journey. The vividness and quality of my lucid dreams were unmistakably enhanced by the presence of the magical mugwort spirit.
Mugwort has long been used by many cultures for prophetic dreaming and astral traveling (its Paiute name translates literally to “Dream Plant”).
Lonerwolf
While I was breastfeeding, I enjoyed the more subtle effects of a small amount of mugwort oil or smudgestick smoke. (Mugwort is a uterine tonic making it wonderful for easing menstrual pain but unsafe for pregnancy, and not enough is known to deem it safe for breastfeeding.) Being surrounded by the smoke of a mugwort smudgestick feels like being enveloped in a mystical hug; it creates a divinely safe haven for the psyche. The oils in the smoke are potent for clearing negative energies from your space, and being naturally anti-fungal and pest-repellant mugwort powerfully protects your home in both the physical and non-physical realms. Cleansing your home and bedroom is desirable before commencing any kind of astral travel, and mugwort is an elite bodyguard to have by your side as you journey.
I also make a rich mugwort-infused body oil. The compounds within mugwort oils are very beneficial for aching joints and muscles, and act like a soothing relaxation massage from the divine plant spirit herself. The plant is ruled by Venus, the goddess of love, and it is very much the spirit of self-love that mugwort evokes. Applying the mugwort oil to your body is a ritual of self-care that deeply feeds and nurtures the Soul, whilst relaxing the muscles of the body and easing aches and pains. I like to apply the oil to my heart and brow chakras to safely activate the heart space and open the third eye to the dreaming realms.
Mugwort is well known to witches for its ability to strengthen intuition, bring prophetic dreams, and aid in astral travel while providing lots of protection.
Hauswitch
Mugwort dreaming invites us to tend to the needs of our inner nature; to slow down, to regain our balance, to connect with our unique gifts and to align with our Soul purpose. It is an amazing sacred plant spirit that I invite you to welcome into your Dreaming. My ASTRAL TRAVEL TEA is a perfect way to welcome mugwort into your Dreaming practice.